After a physician has diagnosed ovarian cancer, he categorizes it according to stage. Staging is the classification of the spread of the cancer based on standardized guidelines. Staging guides treatment planning and helps to define prognosis. Ovarian cancer is staged from I to IV, in order of ascending severity. Doctors further subdivide these stages using letters. The early stages of ovarian cancer range from stage IA to stage IIC.
Stage IA
Stage IA is the earliest stage of ovarian cancer, diagnosed when cancer occurs in one ovary and is found only inside of the ovary, according to the American Cancer Society. To stage ovarian cancer accurately, a doctor may perform peritoneal washings, which involve flushing the abdominal cavities with saline and then checking the fluid for cancer cells. In Stage IA, the fluid from a peritoneal washing does not contain cancer cells. The five-year survival rate, or the percentage of individuals alive five years after the diagnosis, at this stage is 94 percent.
Stage IB
The next substage in early ovarian cancer is stage IB, which describes cancer that occurs inside both ovaries but not on the outer surfaces of the ovaries. As in stage 1A, abdominal washings contain no cancer cells. The five-year survival rate for stage IB ovarian cancer is 91 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.
Stage IC
In stage IC ovarian cancer, a doctor will discover cancer in one or both ovaries that fulfills one of the following criteria: cancer occurs on the outside surface of one or both ovaries, any fluid-filled tumors have burst or the fluid from abdominal washings contains cancer cells. Eighty percent of women diagnosed with this stage of ovarian cancer are alive five years after their diagnoses, according to the American Cancer Society.
Stage IIA
Stage IIA ovarian cancer is still considered early stage ovarian cancer, but it involves cancer that has spread from the ovaries to the uterus, fallopian tubes or both. Washings from the abdomen are still cancer free at this stage. The American Cancer Society puts the five-year survival rate for stage IIA ovarian cancer at approximately 76 percent.
Stage IIB
The second substage of stage II ovarian cancer, stage IIB, describes cancer that has spread from the ovaries to organs within the pelvis such as the bladder, colon or rectum. Abdominal washings obtained during staging do not contain cancer cells, however. The American Cancer Society lists the five-year survival rate for this stage as 67 percent.
Stage IIC
Stage IIC ovarian cancer involves cancer that has invaded the uterus or fallopian tubes as well as other pelvic tissues, according to the National Cancer Institute. Cancer cells appear in washings of the abdominal lining or in fluid found in the abdomen at this stage. For this stage of ovarian cancer, the five-year survival rate is 57 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.
